Endocrine Abstracts

Fetal programming is triggered when a stimulus or insult occurs at a stage in fetal life, critical for target organ differentiation, growth and development. As a result, permanent changes in organ structure or function are induced that manifest as disease in adulthood. Impaired fetal growth or stress during fetal life and subsequent cardiometabolic disease in adult life is a well recognized example of fetal programming.Growing evidence suggests that pren...

Introduction: T regulatory lymphocytes (Tregs) are defined as CD4+CD25high T lymphocytes and are thought to regulate immune tolerance. The Foxp3 protein level in Tregs is proportional to CD25 protein surface expression and regulatory function, but inversely proportional to IL-7R (CD127) level, the receptor for the growth and survival of T cells. We investigated possible differences in Tregs between newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes (DM1) patients and contro...

Introduction: Klotho has an important role in insulin signaling and the development of ageing-like phenotypes in mice. Recently, the G-395A polymorphism in the promoter region of the human klotho gene has been reported to affect promoter function. It has been also shown to be an independent genetic risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to examine the possible role of this polymorphism in the metabolic syndrome....

Introduction: Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels have been associated with the development of the metabolic syndrome. In particular, low SHBG levels have been proposed as an indicator of increased risk for metabolic syndrome in men. The (TAAAA)n repeat polymorphism SHBG gene is believed to affect SHBG levels. In vitro experiments have shown that the allele with 6 TAAAA repeats is associated with decreased transcriptional activity of SHBG gene. The aim of this study was...

Objective: The Fas/Fas ligand (FasL) apoptotic pathway is activated in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). It is believed that Fas and FasL expression in intrathyroidal T lymphocytes and thyrocytes is regulated in a manner resulting in thyroid cell apoptosis in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) or lymphocyte apoptosis in Graves’ disease (GD). The hypothesis that Fas and FasL may be differentially expressed on peripheral lymphocytes in patients with HT and GD ...

Background: Obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation that contributes to the development of metabolic syndrome (MS). Resistin, produced by neutrophils and monocytes, displays potent proinflammatory properties and has been associated with cardiometabolic disease. The aim of this study was to (a) determine serum resistin levels among obese patients with or without MS and (b) explore the role of the subsets of circulating white blood cells as potential determinan...

Background: Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are widely used to improve performance and/or enhance appearance. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of AAS on the reproductive system of athletes.Methods: An electronic literature search was conducted, using the databases MEDLINE, CENTRAL, Scopus and Google Scholar. Studies including AAS use in any type, dose, form or duration of intake were included in the review. Main outcomes were AAS effects...

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease with a strong genetic component. The androgen receptor (AR) is encoded by the AR gene and mediates the action of androgens, which play an important role in bone metabolism. Polymorphisms in the AR gene may be implicated in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis.Objectives: The present study aimed to explore the influence of the (CAG)n repeat polymorphism of AR</em...

Introduction: Transcription factor 7 like-2 (TCF7L2) gene variants (rs12255372 and rs7903146) have been consistently shown to raise genetic risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D). The aim of this study was to investigate the possible role of these variants in the development of dysglycemia (T2D or impaired fasting glucose (IFG)) in patients with metabolic syndrome (MS).Patients and methods: The study population consisted of 228 patients with MS who were...

Background: In subjects with long duration of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), strict glycaemic control fails to decrease the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Impaired vascular indices have been associated with adverse cardiovascular prognosis in T2DM. We examined whether intensive glycaemic control in T2DM patients improves vascular indices.Methods: We studied 68 T2DM patients (64±9 years, 52% males, and T2DM duration 14±10 years) with poor g...